In this context, the role of religion and religious musical events in
modeling genders and/or in providing a space for the expression of gender-roles
is worthy of serious consideration. Since religious beliefs are extremely
important in shaping a particular view of gender, we should take into account
their influence as an element of differentiation among Mediterranean countries,
where the three great monotheistic religions originated and developed side
by side. Judaism, Islam, and Catholic and Orthodox Christianity are all
monotheistic religions, believe in a male God, share a patriarchal view
of society, and assign religious power to men. Of course, there are also
profound differences among them, and we know that religious conflict, which
also involves conflicting views of gender roles (Davis 1993: 94), was one
of the most powerful agents of history in the Mediterranean and constitutes
a problem still today, especially with regard to the resurgence of Islamic
integralism (see the article of Karin
van Nieuwkerk in this number of M&A) and other cases of
religious intolerance. From a historical point of view, one of the major
factors in the shaping of the Mediterranean was the opposition between
Christianity and Islam, since both religions aimed at expanding their areas
of influence. The fights between Christians and Moors are still represented
in Spanish and Italian folk theatre (e.g. Magrini 1992).

Dance representing the fight between Moors
and Christians within the performance of La Morisma, an Aragonese form
of religious folk theatre (Spain).

On the other hand, communities of the Jewish diaspora and Gypsies
had to live for a long time within one of these religious areas and used
religion as a means to either maintain their identity or mediate with their
neighbors. It goes without saying that, in this complex situation (which
is becoming now more and more complex because of the increasing mobility
of peoples within the Mediterranean), distinctive views of genders played
- and still play - an important role in maintaining the cultural identity
of different religious communities. However, one should keep in mind that
the different Mediterranean religions are not equally distributed, let
alone equally strong, within their own areas of influence and that they
do not affect the public opinion on issues related to gender in the same
way everywhere. Moreover, it is important to distinguish between beliefs
that are upheld and promoted by religious authorities and those belonging
to folk religion, the latter being the ritual-religious practices more
frequently observed by anthropologists. In the Euro-Mediterranean Christian
world it is easy to notice that a big gap often exists between official
and folk religions and that the clergy tends to mistrust folk religious
practices that have a clear syncretic character and connections with old
pre-Christian religions. However, these ritual-religious practices are
often the privileged field of action of the women and therefore will be
examined in this article, with regard to the Christian Mediterranean world,
in an attempt to discover their role in the construction and representation
of femininity.